


Thank Agrias Or Thank God

by Benfrosh



Category: Final Fantasy Tactics
Genre: "but benfrosh this is just a fanfic" yeah and it's proof, F/F, Post-Canon, Truth and Reconciliation, failed Ovelia/Delita, this is my proof that Ovelia did not die in the ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-04 22:40:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18822211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Benfrosh/pseuds/Benfrosh
Summary: Agrias, against all odds, has returned to the land of Ivalice, where she hears the worst possible news - Ovelia is injured in an assassination attempt, and she has been hidden away for recovery. Is she dead? How can Agrias find her again? In search of answers, she comes to Delita.





	Thank Agrias Or Thank God

The sound of Delita's iron boots rang through the halls as he and his guards proceeded to his private chambers. While his formal armor emboldened his kingly presence in public, it wore on him as the day went on, and he valued the opportunity at the end of a long day to doff his gear - even if his obligations could not be cast off so easily. But private regrets would not stop him now if they had not stopped him before, nor would they stop him from reaching the end of the castle halls. 

"Leave me be," Delita ordered his guards as he turned. "I would prefer some time alone." 

The two knights looked at each other, a look of concern plain on their faces. "My lord, do you not think it would be wise to keep us near? After the attempt on your life ere two weeks past, surely we should be on hand in case of another?"

Delita scoffed. "You think me the target of some organized conspiracy? 'Twas a lone man, drunk with delusions of revenge. There will not be another to broach the castle walls." Delita paused, glaring daggers at his guards. "That is, if my meaning is made clear to you."

The younger of the two gulped in fear. "Y-yessir. We'll go patrol the walls posthaste."

"See that you do." As the two quickly made themselves scarce, Delita entered his chambers with a small laugh. Would that all his kingly actions be so simple to effect! But now, at least, he could turn to the bureaucracy of the shadows - organizing the spies and agents that kept him apprised of all the going-ons of his kingdom. He could see a pile of reports carefully organized on his table, prepared for him to personally review them. With a sigh, he took off his cloak and hung it on his coat rack as he prepared for the next few candlemarks of work.

The cold touch of steel to his neck, however, indicated that fate had other plans for him. "Walk over to your desk, sit down, and raise your hands above your head," came the quiet level voice from behind him.

As Delita quickly made good on obeying, thoughts raced through his head. He has sensed nothing as he entered the room - heard nothing, seen nothing, even smelt nothing. Even now, he could barely - the earthy scent of galbanum came to his nostrils at the same time as his revelation. Of course, Cherche perfume. When enchanted, it could make the user completely imperceptible and undetectable. Delita knew of no one who still had a supply, but he had studied it nonetheless. But then who had discovered the process to make it anew? He puzzled as he obeyed his foe's commands.

"Tell me," the voice continued - a woman? Only slightly older than he. "What have you done with Queen Ovelia?"

At once, the pieces fell into place. Ramza's crew was the last group that had amassed so many magical artifacts in one place, which made this one person and one alone. "I have done nothing with her, my dear Agrias. She is recovering from wounds she suffered from a failed assassination attempt."

"Don't lie to me!" Agrias shouted, pulling Delita's well-coiffed hair and bringing her sword to his throat. "I know you, and you would never let a would-be assassin within a hundred paces without knowing his life story, having him in your pay, and having contracted his closest friends to kill him. You are covering for something, and I mean to know what."

Delita sighed. "Yes, I am covering for something. Or rather, some _one_. Your dearest Ovelia, in fact."

"Explain yourself," Agrias continued, tightening her grip. 

"There was a failed assassination attempt, I'll have you know. But it was not on Ovelia's life, but rather my own - and by her hands, at that. A detail I most conveniently left out of the public announcement."

Agrias faltered. If he had been inclined to, he could have easily overpowered her and freed himself, but he made no motion to - he knew he was in no danger now. "What?" Agrias finally asked, her strength returned.

"Would you like to see the scar? She made quite effective use of that dagger you gave her."

At this, Agrias withdrew her blade and loosed her grip, and Delita could take a full breath of air once more. He made a note to consult his stylists later to ensure his hair remained presentable. "While I would fain see you suffer for your treatment of the princess, I have other questions need answering first." 

Delita rose from his chair to see his attacker for the first time. Rather than the knightly blue uniform she had worn when they were last acquainted, here she wore long black robes, the better to fade into the darkness. Her blade that she sheathed by her side was not the traditional knightly sword, but rather a long thin piece of cold steel - magical cold, at that. What had not changed, however, was her bright blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, painting the picture of knightly valor. "Speak them and I shall answer. It is the least I can do for your valuable service to Ivalice."

"Your generosity would be more believable if I had not extracted it at swordpoint," Agrias countered pointedly.

"In my defense, I hardly knew you were still alive, even less how to contact you."

"Where is Queen Ovelia?" Agrias asked, ignoring him.

"She is retired at Orbonne Monastery. While I can't say I know for certain what you've been through, it's been several months since you and Ramza descended into its depths to chase Folmarv. We've cleaned up all the corpses and blood you oh-so-inconveniently left behind, and a new elder tends to the place - and to her."

"How was she injured? Do you mean on executing her?"

"Perish the thought. To do so publicly would backfire, and to do so privately would earn me nothing. I merely defended myself as she tried to stab me, and reflexes took over before I could stop myself. I managed to avoid any vital organs, however."

"You'll forgive me if I don't hasten to applaud your kindness. If not for you-" Agrias said angrily, before cutting herself off. "Now is not the time. What are your plans for her?"

"Frankly, I haven't decided yet. She clearly is unhappy with her current role, much as it pains me. But to have her disappear could cause me as much trouble as bringing her back, and as thus I am undecided. Not to mention that I love her, as much as you, and would hate to see her go."

At the last sentence, Agrias's eyes unfocused from their glare. "I love..." she silently mouthed, before facing Delita once more. "Thank you. That is all I needed to know."

Delita spread his arms wide in moke generosity. "'Twas the least I could do for you. If you'll excuse me, however, I have work to do?"

Agrias nodded. "I'll interrupt you no longer. Good night, Delita." And with a snap of her fingers, she disappeared in a flash of light.

'Good night, Delita.' Delita chuckled. So _Ovelia_ gets the title, but I don't, he thought ruefully.

* * *

If Ovelia did not know better, she would think the past two years a delusion. To imagine that she, a small lonely girl trapped in a monastery far away from any other living soul, could be the center of a continent-spanning conspiracy? One that had erupted into a war embroiling all the people of Ivalice, and crowning in her becoming Queen alongside - alongside someone she thought she loved? Truly, there was no sign of it now. On the surface level, nothing had changed at all. She was still Ovelia, she was still trapped in Orbonne Monastery, she was still perched at the same window gazing longingly at the outside she could not know, and she still felt alone. 

Two gaping wounds stuck out that proved that it wasn't a feverish delusion, however. The first, physical - the large scar in her side had healed over, but the internal damage might never leave her now. Even walking proved difficult, with the pain her constant companion. The chirurgeon had promised her that it would go away in time, and while it was no longer as bad as it felt those first few days after the - after Delita had stabbed her, it was an unpleasant reminder of how she came to be back here that never left her.

Worse than the physical pain, however, was the one whose place it took: Agrias. Agrias had been her guard for only a short time before the war, but the two had grown quite friendly during that time - she felt more of a closeness with Agrias than she did with any of the rotating knights who came before. She didn't quite know why, though, for they truthfully had little in common, and save for Agrias's posting here the two might never have met. But even before the two had been wrapped up in the war, Ovelia had found herself enjoying her time with Agrias, going out of her way to find moments where the two of them could just relax together and enjoy the peace of the monastery. 

It was the tumultuous war that threw it all into sharp relief for her, in the end. She knew how she felt when Agrias was near: safe, protected, comforted, valued. And she knew how she felt when she was removed: vulnerable, exposed, a tool to be used and discarded and nothing more. Even Delita, the man she - she thought she loved, she corrected herself ruefully, did nothing for her in the end. With him, she dreamed of a better, happier life, but dreams do not fill an empty heart or make soft the hard bed of reality. In the end, there was only one person she could trust. And now that person was-

"Excuse me, Lorelia?" Ovelia turned from her window at the sound of the false name she was recuperating under. "You have a visitor," continued the priest who was her sole caretaker. 

Ovelia blinked in surprise. "I thought you were told I would not be taking visitors." Both because Delita didn't want her talking to anyone and because she didn't want to talk to anyone who could possibly know where she was.

"I think you'll find," replied the elder as he slowly opened the door to the study she had claimed as her own, "that I did not have much say in the matter."

Agrias. It was Agrias.

She had heard that Agrias died in the closing moments of the war, when the Templar's plots nearly came to fruition. She had _attended her funeral_. There was no possible way this could be Agrias. It had also been many months since they last saw each other - the last thing they had said to each other was a brief farewell with a empty promise to see each other again (and a gift of a knife to defend). The memory seemed so faint at times, blurred in tears, that she could barely recall how Agrias looked on that day. Yet, despite all that, she knew with a single glance that this was the woman who would lay life down for her own. There was no one else in the world who looked at her the way Agrias did, right now.

"I promised I would return, my lady," Agrias said with a smile, her eyes shimmering.

Ovelia could make no reply. She tried to stand, to get closer, to feel Agrias's skin against her own, to know that she was real. But even as her spirit yearned, her flesh failed her, and with a groan of pain she sank to the ground, kneeling to catch herself,

"My lady!" Agrias shouted as she rushed to Ovelia's side. "Are you alright?" she asked, taking Ovelia's hand in her own and brushing aside Ovelia's pale hair that had fallen across her face. "I swear, if that bastard has injured you for life..."

Ovelia smiled softly. None of that seemed to matter anymore. Not when Agrias was here, and her heart felt warm and full again. "Pay it no mind, dear Agrias. I'm just... I'm so happy to finally have you back. I was so scared..."

Agrias smiled to match Ovelia's own, but by Ovelia's judgement it was with tenfold radiance. "The pleasure is all mine, my lady. It tore my heart to not be by the side of my Queen."

Queen. Even through the fog of joy she was now in, the word was like pinpricks on her skin. She knew it was hopeless, but she could not help as she asked, "Agrias? May I ask one favor of you?"

"Anything, my lady. You need but name it."

"Could you call me Ovelia? Titles have done naught for me but separate me from the people and things I love. Here, with you, I do not want to be reminded of that burden."

Agrias shook her head. "But my lady, you _are_ my Queen. I dare not deny you the respect you deserve."

Ovelia laughed bitterly. "Queenship has brought me no respect - only obligations and burdens. And I doubt I am long for the position, at this rate."

Agrias nodded solemly in response, but with an uncharacteristic blush in her cheeks. "Then... if you will not be my Queen, Ovelia, would you be my love?"

Ovelia's own cheeks flushed redder than the lava of Mount Bervenia as her heart skipped two beats.

"I had buried these feelings beneath years of training and drilling of honor into my skull, suppressing my human passions for knightly duty. But it was only in these last weeks, as I came back from Hell itself to find you again, that I realized that it was not mere duty that pulled me to your side. I love you, Ovelia. You mean the world to me, and seeing you hurt is worse than if I was hurt myself. If I were to spend the rest of my days with you," she continued, taking both of Ovelia's hands into her own, "I do not think I could find a greater joy in life."

Ovelia sniffed, as the first tears managed to escape her eyes. "Is that a proposal, Agrias Oaks?"

Agrias laughed lightly. "I hardly dare to suggest the Queen of Ivalice get a divorce, but if one is pending anyways, I would gladly be the first in line for your hand."

"... I hardly know what to say, but I fear my silence would give you the wrong impression," Ovelia replied candidly. "I don't know how I never figured it out before now, but I love you body and soul, dearest Agrias. I just don't know what I can do with this. My-"

A knock on the open door interrupted their conversation, and Ovelia and Agrias turned to see the elder, coughing gently at the doorway. "Pardon me, but from what I've overheard this conversation has taken the turn I rather expected it would. I've taken the liberty of packing your things on my personal chocobo, Ovelia. If you leave now, you should easily reach Limberry before anyone learns of your disappearance, and the border long before anyone could catch you."

Ovelia's mouth hung open in surprise. "Elder, you cannot seriously be suggesting we flee the kingdom?"

"I think you'll find I'm not _suggesting_ it, I'm _enabling_ it. If anyone were to ask, I merely forgot to secure my chocobo before retiring for the night. Now if you don't mind, I think I'll do just that." And with a wink, the elder left, his plodding footsteps fading into the distance. 

"Escape... this could be our chance," Agrias said, speaking her thoughts aloud. "We can settle in Ordallia, start a new life. We can be free from the ties that bind us here."

"But... to leave Ivalice? To leave everything behind?" Ovelia asked incredulously. "It seems so..."

"To leave what? A husband that uses you? A title that pains you? My dearest Ovelia," Agrias said, brushing away Ovelia's tears, "there is no future for us here. If we are to change our fates, we must do it by our own two hands."

Ovelia made no reply at first, merely staring into Agrias's eyes. After some thought, however, she realized there was only one possible answer. She took Agrias's head in her hands and pulled her in for a long, deep, passionate kiss. One that confessed her eternal, undying love. One that showed Agrias how much she meant. One that confirmed that wherever they went, they would be together, and that would be enough. 

After an eternity in a moment, the two parted lips, and Agrias shone with the glow of contentment. Before Ovelia could say anything, Agrias reached over and swooped her up as she stood, cradling her love in her arms and holding her close. "Agrias!" was all Ovelia could shout in surprise.

"You are injured, are you not? Let me carry you to the chocobo, so you may save your energy for the ride." And yet as Agrias said this, her smile told Ovelia that the load was one she was altogether happy to carry.

"... Very well, I suppose. Let us be off."

And the two walked over the threshold, into the new world of possibilities that had been opened to them.

**Author's Note:**

> It always bugged me that the immediate conclusion of the ending was "Delita killed Ovelia." He's gone *so* far out of his way not to kill people over the course of the game, with his only confirmed kill being Duke Goltanna. He even spared a spy sent to kill him just a few scenes before! So I decided to write a fic that shows my interpretation of events, along with girls kissing because I think they're cute.


End file.
